Determination
by ChestnutBrumby
Summary: Set a year after the show's end. A double murder case has Sun Hill stumped - will CID and uniform have the determination to track down the murderer, and what will they discover if so? Stevie/Smithy, Grace/Neil, Ben/Sally. Famailiar faces will pop in!
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my new Bill fanfiction :) _Unsaid_ fans will see more of their favourite couple, plus some Grace/Niel and some Ben/Sally later on. This story is set a year or so after the end of the series. There'll be a few new faces entering in the future - and a few old ones! If you want to read more, leave me a review and tell me so!**

* * *

><p>"Mickey, do you have a moment?"<p>

Mickey lifted a slightly shaggy sandy head to see DI Manson standing in the doorway of his office. "Course Guv." Ever-obliging Mickey rose at Neil's gesture to continue the conversation inside and followed him in. Neil's desk and work area were much like the man himself - plain to the point of being impersonal, neat, tidy, and not a paper out of place. The perfect professional image. But Mickey had worked with Neil for some years now, despite an earthquake-prone shaky start, they had progressed to work together effectively. Mickey knew Neil had matured - in a word - during his time at Sun Hill. Sure, there were still signs of the uptight, sexist, and surly man he'd seemed upon arrival, but they didn't show themselves very often. The DI still wasn't one however, for beating around the bush. No sooner had Mickey's feet come to a standstill in front of the desk was he speaking. "Inspector Smith requested help with a case he informed me about this morning." He began. Mickey wryly wondered if Smithy had indeed asked for CID help, or if Neil had swiped the case for them to investigate. Either way, he was smart enough to keep his suspicions off his face as the DI continued. "Uniform found a pair of bodies in a dumpster, looks like two working girls from initial investigations. Eddy's been taking a look, but so far we've got no ID and no missing persons. Take DS Moss down to have a look, and check in with Smithy before you go - he's got Uniform asking around the area, businesses and homes."

Mickey nodded through the conversation then headed back outside to collect Stevie. He found her absent from her desk and blew out a semi-annoyed breath as he tried to pinpoint where she might be. If there was one thing Neil hated it was his team standing around after he'd just given them a job, so Mickey hastened out into the corridors and in search of Stevie. He wasn't all _that_ annoyed with her, though. Mickey got along well with everyone in CID with the exception of Max, whom everyone knew was a loner anyway. Mickey knew a fair bit more about him that soured him on the stoic Detective Sergent, but Max had sworn to him he was clean now. Mickey didn't trust his word as far as he could have picked up the station and thrown it into the Thames. But Stevie was another matter - she had that sort of infectious enthusiasm he found hard to resist for long, and she was good to work with, both in terms of being easy to get along with and a lot sharper than she might first appear. He was under no illusions though - their relational was strictly platonic. It wasn't _him_that Stevie had her eye on, Mickey thought with a grin, thinking of one of the station's best un-kept secrets.

Stevie Moss was in the cafeteria in full girl talk mode with DC Grace Dasari and Sergent Jo Masters, the former an old CID college. Mickey almost winced at the thought of breaking up the estrogen party but told himself to stop being such a girl. All but laughing out loud he ambled over and politely waited for a break in the chatter - coming mostly from Stevie's end, naturally. "Hey Moss, DI's got a job for us." He announced, including Grace and Jo in his smile of greeting. Stevie pulled a quick face. "What's he consider Uniform too unqualified for this time?" She asked, simultaneously poking fun at their superior and at Jo's team. "Oi!" The Sergent flicked an uneaten chip at Stevie's seat, but she slipped nimbly out of the way and flashed her lively grin at her old friend. "Missed. I don't suppose I've got time to finish my cuppa first if Neil's commanded us off. Best scatter before he finds some paper from 1996 for us instead." Grace laughed softly. "He's not that bad." she stood up for the DI, and Mickey had to hide his grin as the mention of Sun Hill's _second_-most un-kept secret. But he knew the right carrot to dangle to get Stevie moving. "Okay, well I've just got to go see Smithy to see where Uniform's at with this case, then I'll swing back here to pick you up." Stevie downed the rest of her cup in one gulp and spoke without seeming to swallow. How she'd done so without burning herself was a mystery to Mickey, who pictured her as a carton tornado, whirling about so quickly regular people saw only a blur. "Nah, I'm finished here. Catch you later girls." Grace caught Mickey's eye for a moment and the ghost of a smile flickered - she didn't miss anything. Mickey grinned back and sauntered after Stevie, who was already out the doors and moving at her usual fast clip.

Smithy had his hands full with the newest member of the relief when Stevie and Mickey peered through the window to his office. A dark-skinned young man stood in front of the Sergeant, thick black hair perfectly smoothed back, emphasizing angular cheekbones and a smooth-shaven jaw. It was easy to place the features of PC Miles Gayle alongside that of his older brother, Ben, despite the fact he kept his beard shaved and his hair longer in an obvious effort to be physically set apart from him. Miles' loud voice was clearly audible to the two CID members on the other side of the door. "-telling you, I'm fine with PC Roberts! We were making real progress on this murders thing, why am I being dumped with Ben?"

Smithy's patience had obviously evaporated. He had dark circles under his eyes and his tone was more brusque than usual - It was just possible to hear his quieter voice as he lectured the upstart PC. "Jo assigned you for a reason, Miles. CID are taking over the twin murders, and it's not some sort of demotion to investigate a robbery. Now weather or not you work with your brother, I expect you to maintain your professionalism, am I clear?" Miles muttered some sort of reply and a moment later Smithy's office door flew open, and a scowling Miles stomped past without acknowledging Stevie or Mickey. "Charmer, that one." Stevie commented, going into Smithy's office before he could wave them in. He smiled tolerantly at her then seemed to notice Mickey behind her, nodding to the ginger-haired man as well. Mickey was as comfortable working with Smithy as he was with Stevie (though not, he suspected, as comfortable as they were with one another!) after many shared years together. Mickey had been the one to fight for Smithy when he landed in jail after a gangster framed him for a hit and run murder of his wife. Smithy was a lot of things, but bent wasn't one of them - something honest-as-the-day Mickey could spot a mile away. It seemed like so long ago. It was so long ago really, Mickey reflected, but snapped out of his nostalgia when he couldn't take Stevie and Smithy's banter any longer. "So what's with these two bodies then? DI said they were prostitutes?" Smithy nodded and pulled out a couple of files. Even after seeing all he'd seen over his career, Mickey flinched a bit when he saw photographs of the bodies. The faces had been badly mutilated, obviously in some sort of attempt to try and prevent easy identification. "Looks like it. Eddy will be able to tell us more in a couple of hours after he gets the forensics report. I've had Callum and Leon doorknocking but so far if anyone knows anything, they're keeping a tight lid on it." Smithy rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. His hair looked a bit on the unruly side and he looked tired. Stevie asked before Mickey could. "Everything all right?" There was probably a bit more concern in her voice than there would have been in his, Mickey thought, but he was genuinely worried about Smithy and stayed quiet to hear the answer. Smithy nodded once. "Yeah, right as it can be. Miles is causing a bit of a fuss in Uniform, and I've just gotten word we've got a new PC on the way next week, and I just don't know if another new face will make things worse at this point. Least this one's not related to anyone here already." He grimaced, not meaning to sound so grouchy about the matter. Ben had been as professional as anyone could want when his younger brother was posted to Sun Hill... but Miles was another story. "The drugs situation seems to be getting worse, traffic police are getting almost a 50% increase in drug-driving offenses and are pressuring us to get onto it. And to top it off these two bodies turn up in the trash. Do me a favour - find the bastards who did this-" He tapped the files he'd handed over. "And bring them in here so we can string 'em up."

The street was a fairly typical of one to be found Sun Hill. There was a pawn shop, a mobile phone dealer, Laundromat, and a poorly equipped fitness center next to a small supermarket. An alley divided it from a three-story block of flats, and it was this alley which was roped off. Eddie was already busy collecting samples and scoping out the dingy alley. He nodded at Mickey and Stevie as they approached and launched right into his recent findings.

"Over here we've got a partial footprint, worn tread on the left suggesting a bit of a limp. Size ten shoe." Eddie drawled in his usual slow, deliberate mode of speech.

"What colour was it?" Mickey asked innocently, earning a nudge in the ribs form Stevie and a cool look from Eddie. As usual, the Crime Scene Examiner had an answer for that as well. "I'm guessing red mostly. The footprint is there - in that patch of blood." He nodded to a roped-off area. Mickey winced. "So whomever it was wasn't too careful - probably not a professional at tossing bodies into dumpsters." He commented, while Eddie nodded. "Means the bodies were very fresh when they were thrown in, too. Drop by my office later, say after three, and I'll see what I got for you."

A disgruntled-looking Leon met them just up the street. "Absolutely nothing." He said in disgust, shaking his head. "The shops were all open at seven last night - that's when Eddie thought the poor sods were turfed into the bin - and the street was probably crawling with residents, but nobody saw a thing. So they say." Callum came to join them after another failure with a passer-by. "We're about done here, we're going to head back to the station and check out CCTV from the area." He reported, while Leon scowled briefly. Mickey caught the gesture and figured that meant Leon would be sifting CCTV while Callum disappeared on Sergeant-type duties. "Okay, keep in touch." Stevie nodded, as the two uniformed officers headed for the squad car. She began to stride purposefully in the other direction. "Where are we going?" Mickey trotted to keep up. Stevie glanced grimly over her shoulder, looking at the alley cordoned off with Eddie sniffing out more details. "We're going to talk to some old friends of mine, see if we can't find out who these girls were."


	2. Chapter 2

Stevie flounced into Smithy's office and sat on the edge of his desk, flashing a grin down at him. He looked even more tired than a few days before when they'd been assigned the twin murder case, and she felt a flash of worry about him. He did smile at her though, a small smile but one that reached his weary eyes. She didn't let herself look at those green eyes for too long. There was the danger she might never look away again. "Things in Uniform no better huh?" She asked him, noting the circles under his eyes were larger and his shirt was rumpled under his vest. He grunted and propped his chin up in his hand to look at her. "Not really. Ben isn't saying anything but I think he's having a hard time dealing with Miles' attitude, and it's making the rest of the team a bit edgy." He admitted. Stevie could tell by the way he hunched his shoulders and a slight frown pulled down the left side of his lips he was thinking about saying more, and for once the bubbly blonde stayed quiet, gently prompting Smithy speak at his own pace.

"On top of the new girl starting Wednesday, Sally called this morning. Her sister died on the weekend. She's already asking about coming back to work." Stevie winced in sympathy. Sally Armstrong had left the police to nurse her sick sister. She had been a moderate to good police officer depending on the day, but Stevie quickly followed his train of thought - a familiar face might be just what Uniform needed. "Weren't Ben and Sally pretty close?" Smithy nodded in agreement. "Thing is I don't know if it'll help Ben or not. He's got his hands full coping with Miles right now and I don't know if Sally coming back, so soon after her sister, would just add to that."

Stevie thought about it for her prerequisite two-point-eight seconds. "Why don't you get Sally to come in for an interview and just see how she is? You'll be able to judge better if you think she'll fit back in or if she needs more time. Then if you're still worried, talk to Ben." She suggested. Smithy mulled this over for almost a minute then smiled at Stevie for a second time, this one reaching a bit wider. "I think that's a good idea." He admitted, and in an un-Smithy like show of affection at work, he reached out and squeezed her hand. "Thanks Stevie." The moment lasted only a second but it filled Stevie with warmth. When he pulled back her skin still tinged where he touched her. Nate's voice yelling something intelligible down the corridor brought them back to reality.

"Anything on the twin murders?" Back to business. Stevie winced ruefully. "Every close to the scene is closed-lips, CCTV closest to the alley had a rock put through the lens, and to top it all off Eddie still can't make a positive identification from the bodies. None of the local girls will talk to me about who it may have been. We've got minimal clues and no suspects." She admitted, and Smithy frowned again to hear it. It was getting to be such a routine expression Stevie wished suddenly she could just take him away from the whole city, get him away from all this stress and see him smile and laugh properly again. He had such an amazing, boyish look to him when he was happy, when the tensions of the station weren't etched upon his face. He had long since given up trying to stop such errant thoughts at work. She had accepted the tentative relationship between the two of them, and while she wasn't rushing him, there was nothing wrong with the odd fantasy. It made the rare moments when fantasy and reality combined all that much sweeter.

"You'll find something." He reassured, moments away from reaching for her hand again. Then the clatter of Mickey and Terry passing in the hallway outside brought them both back to real time. A second later Stevie's mobile rang and she shot Smithy an apologetic glance. He waved at her as she slipped outside to take the call. There wasn't a lot of time for romance these days at Sun Hill.

Fantasy would just have to wait.

In CID, Stevie found Mickey still chatting, or potentially bickering, with Terry about some football game or other. Mickey was using extensive sweeps of his arms to emphasize his point, and Stevie had to duck as she approached. "Mickey, sorry to interrupt the pantemone." She teased, swatting his arm out of the way. "The manager of the phone shop called - he said one of the young girls working for him has something to tell us. Could be related to the case." Mickey didn't have to ask which phone shop, or which case she meant. The entire station knew about the twin murders and the frustrations the case were causing. "Let's 'ope so." He sighed, then leveled a pointed finger at Terry. "This is not over." Terry made shoeing motions. "Off you go, sunshine." He grinned as Stevie and Mickey headed off to find their lead.

"Think it'll come to anything?" Mickey asked as they pulled up. Stevie made a helpless one-armed shrug motion, the other on the steering wheel "Let's hope so - nothing else has. Come on." She swung out of the car and into the shop at her hundred-mile an hour pace, Mickey scrambling several paces behind.

"Mr Martin, heya." Stevie greeted the slightly overweight manager of the shop first, Mickey puffing behind her offering a nod. "Ah, constables." Though Stevie was a Sergeant she let that slide. "Let me get Chantel for you. She's a good girl, but in this neighborhood, well - you just don't go talking to coppers. So I'd appreciate your - discretion." He disappeared into the back and returned with a red-haired girl of about sixteen with a wary expression. She stared silently at Stevie and Mickey and offered no greeting, so Stevie stepped in. "Hello, I'm DS Moss, this is DC Webb." She waved a hand at Mickey. "I understand you have something to tell us?" There was no need to bring the bodies up. Local gossip about what had happened was rife, all the more reason Stevie had to believe that somebody, somewhere, knew more than what they were saying.

The girl shot a nervous look at Martin, who nodded encouragingly at her. "Look, I di'nt see anyfing, right? But the day before they was found there's these guys outside, and one was throwing rocks." She pointed to the CCTV camera that had been broken, in clear view with the lens shattered. Stevie quirked an eyebrow. "You're suggesting that the camera was broken on purpose?" The redhead nodded silently. Mickey spoke gently to the girl, keeping his expression friendly. "Did you know the blokes you saw throwing the rocks?" After another beat of hesitation, the redhead nodded. "Look, we're not going to get you into any trouble. But if you know any names, it would really help us out." Mickey had an easiness about his manner that the girl eventually responded to. "They go to my school. Canley High. Ali and Ash, they always hang around together. Dunno last names." She squared her shoulders, not ready to say anything more. Mickey and Stevie exchanged looks, and Mickey thanked the girl. It was a start.

At Canley High School Stevie and Mickey pulled discretely into a side car park and headed into the grounds to find the office. Inside, the receptionist was speaking to an unruly herd of teenagers. A blonde woman with a severely short haircut stood with arms folded, watching over the mob, and she turned to nod a greeting. "Can I help you?"

Stevie kept her voice low, so not to advertise the presence of the police to the students. "DS Moss, DC Webb." The blonde didn't look at all surprised to hear this. She had a tough edge that Stevie figured any lasting high school teacher in the area had to develop, and this probably wasn't the first time police had walked in to question some student or other. "Why don't we speak in my office?" She gestured down the hall. Once they were out of earshot she offered a walking handshake, then pushed a door open. "I'm Beth Hamel, I'm acting vice principal while out regular is out having her firstborn." She mentioned, as Stevie and Mickey sat down. "What can I help you with?"

"We're looking for two male students, about sixteen years old. No last names, but they hang about together - Ali and Ash?" Stevie noticed there was a flicker of recognition on the hardened face, but no surprise. "Yeah, Ali Peyton and Ashley Jamison." She replied without missing a beat. "They're a bit rough around the edges, but I didn't have them down as criminals." Stevie however, had heard such claims before. "Would you be able to get them for us, if they're here? We just need to ask them a few questions."

Ali was short and dark, with suspicious eyes. Ash, taller and with dirty-coloured brown hair, wore an arrogant smirk. Stevie gave their names and ranks, then let Mickey take the lead. Getting people talking was a strength of his, with the one-of-the-boys charm that meant he was more easily trusted than some police were by the public. "Right boys, can you tell me where you were last Friday afternoon after school?" Mickey questioned. Ali shrugged soundlessly, but Ash sneered openly. "We don't rememba." He tossed back at them. Mickey was unfazed. "Maybe a little trip to the station would jog your memories?" He offered pleasantly, and the two boys exchanged sullen glances. "Bet your mates'd all like to see you two getting led out in handcuffs. Stevie, you want to bring the car around the front?" Stevie stood up, and Ali scowled. "We was out. Shopping." He said sardonically. "Shopping where?" Mickey's gaze was unwavering. Both boys shrugged together. "Just out." Ali mumbled. "All over."

"Anywhere near Hughs St? Need some new stones for your slingshot maybe?" Both Mickey and Stevie watched the faces for any flinch or sign. Ali was starting to look a bit nervous, but Ash still retained his cockiness. Neither responded to the mention of stones on Hughs St, so Mickey pushed further. "I take it you'd be surprised if I told you I had CCTV footage of the two of you on Hughs St, the same time a camera got smashed? Which could lead to the two of you being implicated in a murder there that night?"

The boys exchanged looks. Then, the smirk never leaving his face, Ash spoke up. "We threw a rock. It was a accident, right Ali?" Ali nodded silently. "We was just messin' about, and the camera got broke. but we dun know nuffink about no murder. You can ask our parents, we were home all night. Good boys we are."

It was downhill from there - Stevie and Mickey let the boys go without anything concrete they could pin on the pair. "Think it's worth questioning some of the other students?" Mickey asked Stevie. She shook her head. "Not at this stage. Did you really have any shots from other cameras of those two on Hughs St?" Mickey sighed. "Nah. But now we know what we're looking for... I'll get Leon on it." Stevie blew out a frustrated breath, wishing they had something more concrete to go on. Every end a dead one...

"Right, when we get back I'll talk to Eddie again. There's got to be something we can find. We just have to keep looking." Stevie told him determinedly, and Mickey nodded in agreement.


	3. Chapter 3

Leon couldn't remember the last time he'd done anything except stare at grainy CCTV images. He had found a couple of shots he'd passed along to Mickey and Stevie of a pair of boys they wanted to place on the scene, hoping they'd get a proper lead out of it. But for him this had just been another afternoon stuck inside, cramped up in an uncomfortable chair. After finishing the footage for the second time he stood up and straightened, debating weather or not to bin the CD's so he'd never have to sit through hours and hours of it again. But then, there was always some boring CCTV CID didn't mind dumping onto Uniform, Leon thought grumpily, heading outside in search of either Stevie or Mickey to tell them he was finished. He still had three hours left of his shift - hopefully Jo would assign him to something decent for the remainder of the day. He'd willingly volunteer for a foot patrol through the Jasmine Allen in pitch black than sit inside for another hour.

There were a few murmured greetings as he traipsed the hallways. Everyone seemed a little down of late. Leon hated the dreary mood. As he passed a window he saw it was raining steadily, which dropped his spirits even further. Leon didn't like the rain. Just his luck, now he'd probably be assigned that foot patrol he'd been thinking about...

"Leon, are you done with that CCTV?" Jo found him before he could find CID. Leon nodded as Jo gestured him into her office, though she didn't sit, so he remained standing as well. "Ben's outside, can you head out for the rest of your shift? He was going with Mel but she's got some paperwork Smithy needs by tonight to do."  
>Despite the rain Leon felt like cartwheeling. "Yeah sure Sarge. No problem." He assured her, and she nodded briskly to dismiss him. He headed outside, pulling his collar up against the rain as he headed for the patrol car. For a moment he looked out at the rainy street and felt a lump rise in his throat, his momentary good fortune evaporating. Natalie had been killed on a night just like this... two blocks home from a mate's place. It shouldn't have happened like that. His beautiful girl, so full of life and laughter, so fearless and loyal.<br>"Oi! You getting in or what?" Ben leaned over cracked the door open to call. Leon snapped out of his memories and into the car, feeling hollowed out, the way thinking of Natalie typically left him. Leon wasn't the type of person who could just move on to somebody new. There had been one girl for him, and now she was gone, and nothing would ever fill the void inside him. Usually he kept it small, concentrated on the job to fill in the gaps left in his life. At other times, it fed on the misery and chewed him up from the inside. Leon remained moody, particularly since Ben was driving and he hated being the passenger. Ben made a few attempts at conversation that Leon grunted or nodded distractedly to. Annoyed with his attitude, Ben pulled up as a light changed to red. "What's the matter with you today? You're about as much fun as a wet rag." He complained. Leon felt momentarily bad. He tried not to let his personal life interfere anymore with work, but sometimes there were reminders he couldn't turn away from.  
>"Sorry mate." He muttered, searching for a joke to let Ben know he was alright. "Could be worse - you could be out with your brother." Ben snorted. "Kid's got a long way to go." He commented shortly, but the silence in the car afterwards was comfortable.<br>"I hear we're about to see an old face again." Leon recalled hearing Sally's name around the caff the past few days. Ben brightened considerably. "Yeah, be great to have her back again. I've been chatting to her on the phone and online, but I haven't seen her properly since she left. Shame about her sister though." Leon tried to figure out how long it had been - must have been about two years since she'd left, he realized with a jolt of shock. Seemed like just the other week when Ben and Sally had gone out almost every day on patrol together, always stuck together, always sticking together. And there, another reminder of death. Leon looked out the window at the darkening streets, rain drumming steady on the windscreen. "Yeah, relief seems a bit small since Kirsty got transferred. Be glad to see her then?"  
>Ben laughed and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "She'd be better company than you right now I reckon." Leon managed to crack a smile.<br>Three seconds later there was an almighty crash of metal on metal. Tyres screamed on the wet road. The area car skidded wildly, slammed violently into something solid then kept going in a wild flip, Ben letting out a roar somewhere between pain and fear as his head cracked into the steering wheel. Leon didn't make a sound, too shellshocked as he was flung against the seat belt, the strap cutting into his shoulder. He thought he glimpsed something solid hurtling towards the windscreen before the car slid to a violent stop. Glass went everywhere and Leon felt slices driving into his skin, a piercing pain in his arm, heard a distant screaming, and then blacked out.

Leon opened his eyes. He was upside down, hanging in the seat belt, blood roaring in his ears, with the car crunched up horribly against his side and arm. He groaned, unable to move that arm at all. When he got the right one in motion he was shocked at the smears of crimson against the white of his shirt, which was in tatters. He cranked his neck sideways, almost passing out again at how dizzy it made him. "Ben." No sound came from his mouth. He hack-coughed, trying again, attempting to force sound out between his lips. "Ben!" That was audible, but Ben didn't respond. There was twice as much blood coming from his head as there was from Leon's arm, and he was out cold. Leon struggled weakly, trying to get his left side unpinned. Pain knifed all the way from his fingertips, up his arm and down his side. That couldn't be a good thing. He found himself unable to even twitch his fingers against the crushed-up metal of the car door - that arm had to be broken, though he was finding it hard to judge from the pain alone. Bits of glass were embedded in both arms and from the feel of it some in his face, but Leon was far more worried about Ben. "Ben. Ben, open your eyes mate, come on. Help!" His voice sounded like he'd been drinking gravel and he doubted it carried any further than the car. "Anyone there?"  
>"Hold on!" the voice from outside was surprisingly clear to Leon, even over the wailing of a siren. An ambulance, Leon hoped for Ben's sake. He could see his chest rising and falling, thank god. He was alive, at least, but Leon didn't think he'd ever seen as much blood as was pooling around Ben's side of the car. He was cut up as well, and only now did Leon notice the shard of glass the size of his fist, sticking out of Ben's chest. He saw an upside-down face in Ben's cracked window. "Don't move him." He croaked, hoping it was loud enough to be heard. The face disappeared. A more familiar one appeared. "Leon!" It was Mel. Roger must have been driving... got here so fast. Leon thought groggily. "Leon! Are you okay?" Mel yelled this time, reaching the hazy part of Leon's mind that was still functioning. He nodded and tried to extend his hand, point to Ben's chest. Mel's olive complexion paled for a moment when she spotted the glass. "Don't worry, we're going to get you out." She called, her tone brave despite the horror obviously creeping up on her. "Hold on Leon."<br>There were more sirens now. Leon was getting dizzier by the minute and his thought process was stilted. He registered crunching metal and more light sudden shone in, the door having been cut away. Hands reached in to brace Ben, a hum of voices blending together. He was pulled out from the overturned car upside-down himself, where Leon saw the ambulance crew right him and strap him, very carefully, onto a stretcher. He felt a wave of foggy relief. Ben would have a chance now.

Natalie never had a chance. The thought, or maybe the jolt of the car, made Leon suddenly cry out in pain. It wasn't fair! Mel appeared in the driver's side gap, crawling into the wreck of the car to speak to Leon, her face urgent. "Leon, they have to move the car to get to you. Your side is up against the building, so you have to hold on just a little longer, okay?" Leon blinked, half dazed, but managed to nod at her. Mel crawled backwards and shouts escalated outside. The sound of the rain seemed even louder, and fatigued metal groaned as the world pivoted.

The next thing Leon knew he was being helped into the back of an ambulance - not Ben's, which had taken off as soon as his stretcher was loaded. His left arm was strapped to his side and EMTs swarmed all around him, he couldn't count how many, asking him all sorts of questions, pressing gauze to his head, banging his good arm. He couldn't answer them. His mind was back with Natalie. Had she been as scared as him? Had she known as the other car crashed into hers, that she was going to die? Had she thought about him and cried out for him in her last moments? Lights flashed and sirens screamed and Leon looked out the doors in the moment before they closed. The area car was upside down a few meters from a brick wall, the left side punched inwards as if a giant fist had been swung into it. The windscreen was gone, blood all over the front. And there was a second car, looking even more managed. More EMTs swarmed around a figure lying on the ground, and he could see two beginning CPR.  
>The doors slammed closed and Leon slumped, his eyes closing, sobs catching in his chest. He thought he could hear screaming still as they sped towards the hospital. It sounded like Natalie's voice.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Sally Armstrong lifted her head, checked her reflection in her car's rear-view and stared seriously at it. _You can do this. Going back to your old life is better than sitting at home weeping_. She told herself sternly. She tried not to think about Sarah and how much it hurt that she would never see her again. If she stopped now to take in the pain of her sister's death she would fall to the ground and sob and never get back up. She'd just collapse in a heap and never be able to deal with it at all.

No, this was what she had to do. Go back to work, face the day. And the day after that. One at a time, Sally would keep going. Sarah wouldn't have wanted her to give up. She had made Sally promise, during the many days they had spent together before her death, that she wouldn't despair after she was gone.

Instead, Sally focused on the thought of seeing Ben again, and all her old colleagues. She thought of Ben's smile and the way his dark eyes lit up when he laughed and his gentle, protective side. She had missed Sun Hill so much, called to her sister in Surrey so quickly she hadn't even said goodbye to them. Ben she had stayed in touch with, but it had been a long time since she'd walked through these doors. Even though she had an unofficial interview with Smithy, who was Inspector now, and she wanted to get it out of the way, the temptation to see Ben again made her hesitate. Should she just quickly look around and see if he was here?

"Sally!" Mel's familiar round face appeared as she stepped through the doors. In the light of the morning Sally was shocked into speechlessness. Mel looked awful, as if she hadn't slept in three days, and despite the warm look of welcome there was something unmistakably haunted about her expression. "Mel!" The two woman hugged briefly before Sally stepped back and frowned, studying Mel again. "What on earth's the matter?"

Mel looked stricken, remembering how close Sally and Ben had been. "I'll take you to the hospital - it's Ben."

Sally felt her breath catch as she stared through the small window set in the door. Ben lay on a flat hospital bed, the sheets ghostly pale in stark contrast to his dark skin. The contours of his face, the stubble on his jaw, the close-cropped hair, were all exactly as she remembered. But Ben looked as if somebody had dragged him backwards through a sawmill. His arms, neck and face were battered, a dozen cuts and scrapes decorating them left unbound. He was bandaged around the middle, with a faint pink stain just visible under the white fabric. He had a the sort of flat, beaten-down stillness about him that Sally recognized. The days before she died, Sarah had the same air.

It struck her just how badly Ben was hurt. That he might die. Here, today, before she could ever see those eyes looking earnestly into hers again. Tears coursed down Sally's face and she reached to open the door. A nurse made some sounds of protest but Mel stepped to her side, spoke to her quietly. Sally was heedless of it all. She crept to Ben's side, reached for his hand. The soft feel of his skin was a cold chill - he was freezing. Unaware of the tears flowing freely, Sally grabbed a blanket from the tiny stand beside Ben's bed and unfolded it, placing it over him with the utmost gentleness, not putting any pressure on him. She pulled the plastic chair as close to the bed as she could and still sit in it. There was a dressing along one side of Ben's face. She traced the other side with her fingertips, avioding touching the tiny cuts dotting his cheekbone. "It's okay now Ben. I'm here. This time I'll look after you."

Smithy came to see her later that day after a visit to Leon a few rooms down. He had a bad fracture in his arm and a few nasty cuts, but he would be released the following day. Sally thought that he looked a touch older than the picture of him in her memory, a few more lines around his face, but his familiar accent never changed. "Sally, you alright?" She hadn't left Ben's side since arriving and Smithy pulled up a second chair to sit beside her now, glancing Ben over. Sally had her fingers wrapped around his. There was a cut down his right index finger that had already closed over. Sally wished they would all heal as fast. She had refused to leave when a nurse changed Ben's dressing at midday and had been horrified at the gigantic slice down his chest, right over his heart. He had been incredibly lucky, the doctors said. If the glass shard had gone any deeper, it would have killed him.

"I'm alright Sarg- sorry. Old habits." She sniffed and smiled very weakly, and Smithy smiled back. She was tougher than she looked, he realized. She'd get through this. "Look, I understand it's not the time now. But when you're ready, just give me a ring, yeah? I don't think it'll be a problem, you coming back to Sun Hill."

That at last was one small thing she had to worry about. Her nerves this morning seemed pale in comparision now, in the light of what she'd had to face since then. "Thanks Inspector. I'll take you up on that. As soon as-" Her gaze went to Ben and she swallowed. As soon as what? As soon as Ben woke up?

_As soon as she lost him, too?_ Tears appeared once again, betraying her. Serious but stable, the doctors said. Smithy patted her shoulder with sympathy. "It's okay Sally. When you're ready, okay?" He stood up and looked regretfully down at Ben. He couldn't bring himself to think that it could be the last time he'd see his officer alive.

Sally looked up at him as he pushed the door open. "Find who did it." She said, the tears suddenly done, her voice that of steel. Smithy felt the flash of resolve center itself in his chest, flaring up determinedly. "We will." He promised quietly, and stepped back out into the aisle.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at the station it was almost a full-blown crisis. "Nate, you're with me!" Jo called as he passed on his way for towards a coffee. He looked up helplessly, gesturing to the machine. "I was just-" Jo waved impatiently. "No time for that. Turns out the driver of the car who hit Ben and Leon died in hospital. He was high on ecstasy, but Eddie doesn't think it was a routine sort of dose. We've got to inform his girlfriend, and question her as well." Jo said grimly. It wasn't going to be an easy job and Nate, hardly the most sensitive of the relief, was not the man she wanted for the job. But things were hectic around here, with Roger and Callum following up yet another lead on the twin murders that hopefully wouldn't turn out to be a dud, Leon and Ben of course in hospital, and Mel and Smithy off-shift getting some much needed sleep after they'd spent the night interviewing witnesses about the car crash. It just wasn't going to be their day today, Jo thought grimly.

* * *

><p>Smithy groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. He was too tall for his bed, and his feet dangled over the edge. Grumpily he pulled the the covers down around them and turned his face away from the slivers of light coming in through the drawn blinds. He would have thought he'd gotten used to sleeping during the day by now, but despite the exhausting night he just couldn't doze off. His mind was a whirlwind of car crashes, injured coworkers, witness interviews, and an ever-present nagging about the lack of evidence on the twin murders. He rolled onto his left side. Five minutes later, his right. His phone buzzed softly and he reached to the nightstand to pick it up. It was a message from Stevie. <em>Hey, you awake?<em>

Stevie was the only person he text-messaged instead of talking to like a normal person. His fingers felt clumsy as he stabbed at the keys, muttering as he got letters wrong, too tired to go back and fix them.

_Yeah. Ypu want to aome ovre?_

Used to deciphering his typos, she quickly texted back. _That'd be good._

They didn't live very far apart which gave him around ten minutes to brush his teeth, stand under the shower, then stumble towards the ringing door in his towel, dripping all over the floor. Stevie laughed at his fashion statement as she sashayed through the door, looking amazing as usual despite the fact she'd had three hours' sleep. Smithy wondered if anything ever brought down that spirit of Stevie Moss. "Afternoon sunshine." She cheekily tweaked a side of the towel on he way past him, pausing to kick off her shoes. He swatted at her hand but was forced to grab the towel before the whole thing slipped. "Gimme a minute." He waved at the couch in a 'make yourself at home' gesture, though Stevie didn't need the invitation. She curled up op his couch, pulled a discarded football jersey over her feet to keep warm and nestled down with the remote in hand. Smithy retreated to the bathroom, scavenging a set of boxer shorts then a pair of jeans that looked clean enough. He came up short on a shirt and emerged back into the sitting room, affording Stevie her second view that day of a shirtless Dale Smith. He noticed her eyes lingering and felt just a little more awake than before. "Can you pass me that?" He nodded at the jersey and she hooked it with a foot, passed it to her hand and forked it over. He pulled it over his head as she complained. "My feet'll be cold now."

Smithy flopped down on the other end of the couch, pulled her feet into his lap and placed his arms over them to keep her warm. "Sorry, should've offered you a coffee." He mumbled, but she stopped him from getting up. "No, stay there." Her voice was gentler than usual, lacking for once in the teasing tone rarely far away. "Had trouble sleeping?" He nodded at her, wondering how she could always tell. This was far from the first time they'd snuggled together, either on his couch or hers, the promise of something more always alive between them no matter how dire the circumstances were that brought them together. He let himself slump sideways so he rested lightly against her, sighing softly when he felt her arm slip over his shoulder, curling back up so she could gently run her fingers through his still-damp hair. "Don't think I will now though." He mumbled, already feeling himself drift off.

Though she hadn't had much sleep either, Stevie wasn't tired herself. She studied what she could see of Smithy's face, slumped tiredly against her body, the worry lines around his eyes smoothed out now by sleep. She continued to play with his hair, marveling at how soft it was. The familiar surroundings of his flat were comforting to her, almost a second home by this point. They had embarked upon the beginnings of a relationship more than a year ago, though nothing more than a few kisses and some innocent falling-asleep-in-each-others-arms had happened since. Stevie knew that getting back into a serious relationship was something that terrified Smithy - as brave as he was out on the streets, as cool and collected in dealing with hotheads at the station - the last time he'd given his heart away it had ended in a terrible tragedy. Stevie understood where he was coming from. Over the years working together, and the most recent year confiding in one another, he had come to mean so much to her at times Stevie didn't know how she'd ever coped without him. What she had felt before her love for him lit up each and every day with that special warmth, making her feel the way no one before him had? What had she done before he offered her that broad shoulder? And the thought of ever loosing him made her understand just how scared he must be, and she hadn't gone through that the way he had.

Sure, she'd made her share of bad mistakes when it came to men. Maybe she'd just grown up since those days. Maybe she was making an adult choice for once - but the truth was, she'd chosen him long before now. And she would wait for him, as long as he needed.

She felt him stiffen suddenly, a twitch jolting his body slightly, and she brought her other arm up to hug him gently. He had been dozing for almost an hour, though Stevie barely realized the time. He mumbled something in his sleep, then sat bolt upright, his green eyes huge and his face pale and drawn. She straightened up, reaching out to him again, as he had broken her hold leaping upright. "Smithy, it's okay. It was just a dream." She told him, and the panic faded from his face. But the emotion didn't, and the way he looked at her, as if she had just saved him from some terrible darkness, made her shiver. "Stevie." He breathed out, and the single word sent shivers down her spine. He reached out for her pulled her roughly into a crushing embrace she wished would last forever. "You are the best thing in my life. I love you, Stevie." His voice was rough but raw, the honestly, the devotion in the words unmistakable.

She reluctantly pulled back a little to look deep into his eyes, putting one hand on either side of his face. "I love you too, Dale." She said simply. She usually called him Smithy, as did almost everyone, and the use of his first name touched his heart in a way he never imagined anybody would after Kerry. He pulled her close to kiss her. But this kiss wasn't like other kisses they'd shared. There was urgency in this kiss, fire and passion and longing. Stevie had no doubt whatever he'd faced, his mind was made up now. His kisses told her that there would be no more waiting. No more cautious walls between them. He fell back against the couch, pulling her smaller figure with him, kissing her with every bit of conviction in his body. She responded with enthusiasm, impatient with the small confines of the couch stopping her from getting even closer to him. Evidently he agreed, and before she knew it he picked her up as if she weighed nothing and carried her to his bedroom. His bed might not have been large, but there was enough space for the two of them to achieve exactly what they wanted.


End file.
